KAWAU SPRING SPLASH CLASSIC PARADE – 25 WOODYS + A BAY FULL OF BOATS
If you were thinking about buying a classic wooden boat but weren’t quite sure which style floated your boat, a visit to the 2026 Kawau Boating Club Spring Splash over Labour Weekend would have gone a long way towards answering that question!
Over the last two days, I’ve shared a series of semi-random Waitemata Woodys posts to give you a taste of the action, both ashore at the KBC and out on the water.
Aside from New Year’s Eve, I can’t recall seeing so many boats anchored in Bon Accord Harbour. Now, I know that’s not everyone’s scene – some skippers will do a U-turn if they’re not the only boat in the bay! But for most, the fleet, the atmosphere and the chance to catch up with fellow boating enthusiasts are all part of the magic.
There were a few new systems to navigate and the inevitable operational speed bumps, but none of that stopped the good times rolling. Each evening, the dining and partying got underway, with music perfectly matched to the crowd. The food gets an 8/10 from me, which is high praise indeed!
So, a big tick to the team behind the weekend. If you enjoyed this year’s gathering, do yourself a favour and circle Labour Weekend 2027 in your diary now.
Today, I’m sharing a photo gallery focusing on Sunday’s WaitemataWoodys Classic Wooden Boat Parade. We had a fantastic turnout, with 25 classic craft joining the parade. I have include a few photos that show the ambience of the KBC (thanks to Beth Houlbrook from KBC for her photos). When I cover these big events, my objective is to try and give the WW readers a taste / feel for what it was like, so enjoy the gallery and remember if you click on a photo it enlarges.
And it wasn’t just the parade. I’ve never seen so many classic wooden motorboats out on the water at one time, the bay was absolutely teeming with woodys, my count was 41 classic craft.
Enjoy the gallery, and remember, clicking on any photo will enlarge it. Scroll down to view the two previous weekend posts.
P.S. If you were there and we missed your boat, apologies. With so many classics on the water, keeping track of everyone was always going to be a challenge.
CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH LOLENE LOOKING VERY SAD + LABOUR WEEKEND KAWAU ISLAND SPRING SPLASH DETAILS
The classic kauri carvel sedan launch LOLENE was designed and built by Billy Rogers & launched in 1963 as his own launch. Back in April 2014 WW ran a story on her and we learnt from Harold Kidd that she was named after one of his daughters, as were a lot of Billy’s boats.
powered by 6 cylinder 120hp Ford diesel. She measured 34’Length, 10’ 9” beam & 3’ 3” draft. 5’ 10” headroom and powered by 6 cylinder 120hp Ford diesel. Link to 2014 story here – https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/04/08/lolene/
Earlier in the week John Dawson sent in the above photos from Waiheke Island. Fingers crossed someone out there loves her, she is desperately needing some TLC.
KAWAU ISLAND SPRING SPLASH – do not want to temp fate but everything is falling into place – weather forecast ✔️, bands / DJ’s everyday at Kawau Boating Club ✔️, new caterers and menu ✔️, refurbished clubrooms ✔️, events for all – sailing races, cruising events, classic woodys parade – ✔️, and its all free ✔️, no entry fees, no cover charges , clubrooms open to all boaties✔️, there is even an extended ferry service from Sandspit for non boaties ✔️ – programme below.
WW has been contacted by Jack Lyons regarding his 12’6” classic Sea Craft clinker built kauri runabout .
Jack’s father purchased the boat c.1950 and ownership was passed on to Jack but as is often the case these craft get ‘parked’ away with the good intention of being restored.
Well life and the ownership of a 47’ Warwick yacht got in the way and now Jack has made the call to find a new custodian that can take on the project.The Sea Craft is located in Wellinton and from Jack’s comments, the right owner is more important than the right prize. WW readers will be familiar with my view that these trailerable classics are the future of classic wooden boating, so woodys someone needs to put their hand up.Jack can be contacted at
And for those that can’t be bothereddoing either – sit back and have a coffee
THERE ALWAYS HAS TO BE A WOODY PHOTO – From memory I think Nathan Herbert took this one of RAINDANCE on route to the Riverhead Tavern. But Jason Prew commented I must be wrong as NH would never be out in those conditions 🙂
CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH KALAMERE – UNCOVERING HER STORY
Todays woody story started from 2025 note from Denis O’Callahan via the November 1958 edition of Sea Spray magazine. One of the craft featured was the 34’ motor launch KALAMERA, built c.1958 by Alan (Snow) Water in Takapuna, Auckland. She was built for a gent named Jack Bennent of Paeroa. Her intended home port/s was listed as Coromandel /Whangamata, where she was to be used primarily for sport fishing. The woody question that day was did she ever make it to Coromandel and what became of her. Link to that story https://waitematawoodys.com/2025/09/14/in-search-of-the-classic-wooden-launch-kalamera/
Well woodys fast forward to earlier this week and jackpot – WW received an email from John Clynes who describes himself as the first mate on KALAMERE, John thought WW may like an update on her history and some latest photos. John is a retired boatbuilder who also I worked for Jack Stone in Takapuna and built real wooden boats. John lost contact when Jack moved up the Wade river no build a 50’+ Fijian Kauri commercial fishing boat that John lofted out the frames for.
John wondered if we have any info on Jacks boats.
I’ll hand over to John to tell the story –
“ Jack Bennet, a war veteran, saw wartime service in the Mediterranean as a truck driver in World War II. On return, he married Doreen and they were both keen fishos on the Thames coast. In the early fifties they bought a boat named Noni in Whangarei as advertised in the NZ Herald for 1450 Pounds. With the help of Allan (Snow) Waters, a Takapuna boatbuilder who surveyed her, they all took delivery and sailed her down to moor in Tapu on the Thames coast. Sadly, they lost Noni in heavy seas eight months later and she washed ashore on the rocks by the roadside in the next bay. Noni was trucked to Auckland for assessment and was deemed a write off. Jack managed to retrieve the four-cylinder diesel, prop and shaft for his next boat, determined to make another boat bigger and better.
Jack engaged the services of Snow again as he was renowned for building seaworthy hulls that would sail and motor comfortably in any weather to handle coastal New Zealand conditions and so KALAMERA was born inspired by Jack’s wartime service in Greece. Kalamera means good morning.
Mr. Lou Wenzlick had a permit to take standing dead Kauri out of the bush on top of the Wias track above Hikutaia. Jack bought a log 37-foot-long log and took it on his own transporter up to Helensville Sawmill which was the only mill capable of milling that length. He then loaded the milled timber on his transporter and delivered it to Snow Water’s boat shed in Takapuna. Kalamera’s ribs needed Tanekaha or Mangeao timber, so Jack harvested a tree of each from his own back bush property in Komata and got Harvey Evans in Paeroa to mill them.
Otie Miller an older gentleman, and a qualified ship’s furnisher, employed by Snow, fitted out the interior. Fred Pole was a mate of Jacks who lost an arm in the desert and came home on an hospital ship with Jack and was rehabilitated to become a French polisher. Fred very kindly polished all the interior mahogany joinery. Snow made all the templates for the bronze stem, bollards and cleats and got them cast at the Thames Foundry. 12 months later a thing of beauty was born, 34 foot in length, 10’6” beam, draught 3’9” initially powered by the motor from Noni and replaced five years later with a 100hp 6-cylinder diesel capable of nine knots
The 8th of September 1958 on a crane at Devonport wharf, she was christened Kalamera and cruised the upper North Island for many years from her home port in Whangamata staying in the family with Jack’s three children Ron, John and Eileen until June of 2004 when Neville Foster, Eileen’s son and grandson to Jack took ownership of Kalamera, privileged to keep the boat in the family and brought her over to her new mooring in Puhi Rare Bay Coromandel.
3 years later in 2007 Kalamera chafed through her 40mm polyester braided mooring rope and decided to take herself on a journey in a storm and vanished out the harbour entrance. The following morning, Neville got a call from the harbour master Dick Williams who saw her come back into Woolshed Bay Coromandel with minor damage. She came back into the harbour by herself just to say “Kalamera! Good Morning!”
Neville and family made a work move to Australia and sold Kalamera to Norm and Pam Gray of Waiomu (Thames Coast) in 2009. They enjoyed her for eight years when Neville bought her back in 2017 while still living in Australia. Covid made travel difficult, so it was time to give her up again for the last time.
Bruce Pemberton the current owner bought her in 2023 and has her up in Fureys Creek, Coromandel on a mud berth for restoring as finance allows. Bruce had a trucking career and is a diesel mechanic by trade, so it is rather fitting as Jack Bennet was also a truck driver and mechanic which puts Kalamera in good hands. In 2026, Bruce did a complete 2026 overhaul pistons and liners on her 1963 diesel engine and now burns a clean stack and she purrs like a kitten is easily giving her hull speed of 9 knots. Painting, painting and painting over 2026/27 will bring Kalamera back to her former glory which is testament to real wooden carvel plank, kauri boats, a pedigree of nearly seventy years always lovingly maintained.“
MELANIE – TRACING THE HISTORY OF A CLASSIC GAME LAUNCH
Thanks to an email from John Dawson we are able to clear up any confusion around the provenance of the classic wooden game boat – MELANIE.
In the top photo we she MELANIE c.1959 as built by Brian Donovan (brother of Andy) at 21st Century Boats.
In April 1965 her owner,Len McCracken, sadly drowned returning to the vessel one evening at Mayor Island.
Late 1960’s her new owner, John Lee had MELANIE refitted as a bridge-decker at the Visser yard and changed her name to LEEWAY. She then went into charter fishing the Mayor Island grounds.
Harold Kidd advised the last he heard of the vessel was c.2015, in Havelock North.
Any update on where she is today.
(Special thanks to Harold Kidd, Brian Worthington & the Andrew Donovan collection)
CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – MOANA ROA (MAUREEN R) A Peek Down Below
Back in August 2018 we Rana story on the 1957 Owen Woolley built 29’ launch MOAANA ROA (previously named MAUREEN R, then over time we received regular input and historical photos from WW readers as to her story, the last being in 2025, Link to that story here https://waitematawoodys.com/2018/08/27/maureen-r/
Fast forward to last week and thanks to Ian McDonald spotting a tme listing we now get to have a peel down below.
Appears to be a very smart, well presented classic wooden launch. Forward motion is from a Lees Marine Ford 60hp diesel engine.
Further to Sundays storyon Astrid, there was an Athol Burns thread on Boatdesign.net about 14 years ago where the topic of Astrid came up. An ex-owner (now residing in the USA) came forward and provided some colour photos from his ownership and he made the following comments:
I was partnered with a friend we owned ASTRID in Auckland for a few years. I too was wondering what became of her and stumbled onto this forum. I have included some photos.
She had a single banger gas engine with a huge flywheel crank start. The name eludes me. It was kind of cool in it’s annoying way. Cranking made for some funny times.
She sailed quite well with a bit of a struggle pointing as you can imagine. We decked her out with some Lidgard sails including a full radial reaching chute. From memory she was built in Kawhia. I had a copy of the Seaspray article but it has since disappeared.
Today we have an an update from Tobias Forsyth on his rebuild of the 24’ Sam Ford built (1954) classic wooden launch – AVALON. Getting very close to hitting the water. Have to admire the workmanship , very talented man is Tobias.
I’ll hand over to Tobias to walk us thru the work – Update 6, great progress and we have a launch date for late November.
“Photos are fairly self explanatory, new cabin top has been clashed with kauri and then corners glassed, an internal laminex epoxied and vacuum bagged down to have a nice easy maintainance deck head. Cabin top then fully painted and installed. Final coats of varnish done plus non skid on decks before glass install. Made some good progress of wiring and systems with a quick test run of the engine to make sure all is working as it should.
Test fit the new squabs and carpets along with a few other cosmetic touches. All going to plan the launch date should be ok. Just the final coat on the hull and then driveline install and finish off the engine bay and systems left to go now.”
